Wakefulness slowly seeped into Fernie's being. She had been so tired before falling asleep, having suckled the new litter just before she was pulled into dreamland. The speckled gray rabbit sniffed at the three kittens. Larch was a speckled brown rabbit and Holly and Birch were brown tabbies, though Birch was paler than his sister. Happiness overcame Fernie, who hadn't had a family after her humans had abandoned her until Dusty, a dark tabby tom, came around and saved her and came to love her.
She glanced for their older sons, but she only found the black and tan rabbit form of Spider. She nudged him till he woke. Grogginess in his large eyes, he blinked at her with confusion.
“Where's Shrew?” she asked about the brown tom.
Spider yawned before replying, “He isn't here?”
Fernie found herself turning frantic. Neither litter had been allowed to leave the shrubs on their own. They had to stay with either their mother or father or both at all times! Where could he have gone, and what trouble could have found the small cat?
The grey rabbit told her eldest child, “Stay here in case the kittens wake up!”
“You're leaving?” he gaped.
She sighed, “Shrew could be hurt, or worse, so I need to find him quickly!”
Spider slowly shook his head as his mother headed out of the greenery that protected them. She hopped as fast as her muscles would allow, and used her nose and ears to try to find him. Finally, she heard the sound of him huffing, and she rushed through the tall grass.
The sight she stumbled upon shocked her. Her jaw dropped and her ears twitched with fear.
“Sh-shrew?” she finally stammered.
Blood was dripping from his chin. The young cat was hunched over his first catch. The piece of prey was a different kind than Fernie, she could not have bred to it if she had wanted to, but it was still the same species: rabbit.
“Mama,” his golden eyes grew like drops of warm honey.
What should she say? Dusty had never fed their kittens rabbit. He refused to hunt them, or at least, to bring any home to eat in front of Fernie and the others.
“Your first catch!” she forced cheer in her voice.
He shuffled his paws awkwardly, “Yeah, are you proud of me?”
She nodded vigorously, “But of course! You'll be able to be on your own soon.”
He wouldn't need his parents if he could fend for himself.
“Are you okay?” he asked cautiously.
She gave a short laugh, “Oh yes, indeed.” A pause and then, “We'll tell your father when he gets back from work!”
“Will we tell him everything?” Shrew queried.
Fernie thought for a moment, blinked her dark eyes, and then said, “We'll tell him you made your first catch, and you did it all by yourself!”
“Thank you, Mama,” Shrew purred. He took the final few bites of the rabbit before following his mother home.
“Where were you?” Spider asked a little too loudly.
“I wanted to hunt,” Shrew answered with his voice tight from nerves.
Spider tilted his head to one side, “Did you catch anything?”
Fernie looked to her son and allowed him to make his decision.
“Yeah,” Shrew took a deep breath, “a rabbit!”
Spider was shocked, “You aren't going to eat me, are you?”
Shrew laughed with a genuine air about him, “Of course not; that was a wild rabbit, and you're not like them!”
Spider looked thoughtful, but said no more.
Fernie settled around her young litter who were beginning to rouse. She allowed them to suckle as they wished, and she wondered what would happen when her other feline children were to grow up.
But for now, she watched as Shrew and Spider groomed each other, nothing between them but brotherhood.
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